Can you be forced to work more than 40 hours a week?

[CornishKK]

My sister is currently on maternity leave and met with her bosses to discuss returning to work. She manages a clothes store and before going on maternity leave was required to work ridiculous (IMO) hours during the peak summer season - i.e. often from 8:30-22:00 six days a week, she is on a salary not an hourly rate and has a term in her contract that refers to working overtime as required.

She has requested to return to work five days a week 9:00-17:00 and has been told that if she did she wouldn't be considered to be working full time, wouldn't be able to meet the specification for a manager and would need to take a pay cut.

Can they do that?!

I've suggested that she contacts The CAB but wondered if anyone here had any thoughts?

Certainly, in the NHS you can,and frequently are, but I think it really depends on what is in her contract.

"working overtime as required" is a bit vague - and open to interpretation IMO.

Sorry - not much help I'm afraid.

i used to work in recruitment about 10 years ago and there was something then called the 48 hour waiver.

if you worked more than 48 hours a week then you were required by law to sign the waiver.

not sure if it still exists though

I think you need to google 'european working time directive' for current rules.

Can they do what? Can they force her to work 8:30 - 22:00 6 days a week or can they cut her pay if she reduces the hours she works from 84 to 30 a week?

Two different questions really!

The Working Time Directive says that people shouldn't work more than an average of 48 hours a week. However your sister may have signed an 'opt out' from that requirement. So in terms of whether they can make her do those hours, it depends on that.

I agree that those hours are ridiculous. However it also seems that if those are the hours she realistically has to do to do her job at the moment, then she won't be able to do her job the same 9-5 five days a week. So it will cost her employer significantly to fill the gap.

Even if that amount of unpaid overtime is ridiculous, which it is, I do think if she is saying she won't do any overtime in a job that demands it and on a salary that takes it into account (to an extent anyway), then a bit of a pay cut to reflect the fact that she only does basic hours is reasonable. Think of her management colleagues' point of view. Her doing 9-5 five days a week while they are slogging their guts out all day everyday will be an issue.

What kind of percentage pay cut are they proposing?

Just copied and pasted this bit from the unison.org website.

LEGAL CONTEXT
What rights does the Directive give workers?
The European Working Time Directive came into force in the UK in 1998. The directive covers numerous issues relating to working time, these include giving workers the right to:-

1. a working time limit of 48 hours a week.
2. a minimum rest break of 20 minutes during any day or shift that exceeds six hours.
3. a minimum rest period of 11 hours between the end of one working day or shift and the beginning of the next (not including the day of the shift changeover).
4. a minimum weekly rest period of 24 hours, which can be averaged over two weeks.

It is important to note that the 11 hours consecutive rest can be varied, as long as compensatory rest is given. For example, a break of 6 hours between shifts can be compensated with a subsequent break of 16 hours between shifts.

Controversially, the UK has an opt-out from the 48 hour working time limit which allows individual workers to sign away this right on a voluntary basis. This must be done voluntary and in writing and can't be an agreement with the whole workforce.

Sorry, that should be 84 to 40 a week!

Thanks for your responses - I'll check to see if she has signed the waiver.

Despite the conversation being kicked off two weeks ago they have not yet given her an indication of the likely cut in salary - and to be be honest the salary she is paid is laughable anyway, if they cut it any further she'd be better off working in Asda!

You are right though Flowerybeanbag, it would hack off the other managers if she refused to do any overtime and got the same pay as they did, it could cause a revolution (maybe not a bad thing). I'm being over protective of her as I think her employers have proved themselves to be arses over the years.

CornishKK - Clothing chains seem to treat their staff really badly. If she can find a job elsewhere, I'd take it.

It's one of the reasons why I'll never shop in River Island again.

It's a very small chain that advertise themselves on their ethics and family orientated general organic loveliness - ahem!

She has signed the waiver........

My suggestion is to go back pregnant and really annoy them.

I think a pay cut is potentially reasonable, so it really depends how much of a cut they propose. She needs to push them on that really so she knows what she's dealing with. I know it's easier said that done!

I used to manage a clothes store myself. I was also paid a pitiful salary, £12k in central London in 1998 for managing a shop all by myself!

However to be fair, I didn't have to work those kinds of hours, I almost always had two days off a week and we weren't open late.

Retail does have a bad reputation for this type of thing though.